As many as nine people were believed to be missing after a Coast Guard plane collided with a military helicopter off the Southern California coast Thursday, officials said.

The crash was reported at 7:10 p.m. local time, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) east off San Clemente Island, Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Allyson Conroy said.

A pilot reported seeing a fireball in the vicinity of the suspected crash site, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said.

Gregor said preliminary information indicated the crash was between a Marine Corps AH-1 Cobra and a Coast Guard C-130 transport plane.

There were seven people on board the C-130 and two on the chopper, Gregor said.

Marine Corps spokesman Cpl. Michael Stevens confirmed an AH-1 Cobra had crashed. He had no additional details.

A search and rescue mission was underway.

San Clemente Island, the southernmost of the eight Channel Islands, is 68 miles (109 kilometers) west of San Diego.

Meanwhile, stormy weather forced the Coast Guard to suspend its search for two missing Navy pilots and their plane along the central Texas coast.

Petty Officer 1st Class Nayo Gallegos said crews stopped their search around 8 p.m. Thursday because of limited visibility. The search was expected to resume Friday morning.

Air Station Corpus Christi lost contact with the Navy T-34 training plane Wednesday afternoon. The pilots' names haven't been released.

The single-engine plane's last known location was near San Jose Island, east of Rockport and 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) off shore in the Gulf of Mexico.

A Coast Guard spokesman told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that crews have made nearly 20 flights and covered more than 3,900 square miles (10,000 sq. kilometers).